MSCI – Quantitative Developer – Portfolio Optimization (Beijing) recruitment

Quantitative Developer - Portfolio Optimization (Beijing)

ABOUT MSCI Inc. (www.msci.com)

MSCI Inc. is a leading provider of investment decision support tools to investors globally, including asset managers, banks, hedge funds and pension funds. MSCI products and services include indices, portfolio risk and performance analytics, and governance tools.

The company’s flagship product offerings are: the MSCI indices which include over 120,000 daily indices covering more than 70 countries; Barra portfolio risk and performance analytics covering global equity and fixed income markets; RiskMetrics market and credit risk analytics; ISS out-sourced proxy research, voting and vote reporting services; CFRA forensic accounting risk research, legal/regulatory risk assessment, and due-diligence; and FEA valuation models and risk management software for the energy and commodities markets. MSCI is headquartered in New York, with research and commercial offices around the world.

For further information on MSCI, please visit our web site at www.msci.com

We are currently seeking a Quantitative Developer – Portfolio Optimization to join our Application Development Organization in Beijing, China.

POSITION OVERVIEW:

MSCI is seeking candidates for a newly created Quantitative Developer role with our Barra Optimizer team based in Beijing, China. Barra Optimizer is a software package that handles a wide variety of portfolio construction and optimization problems. It is specially designed to create portfolios and trades that maximize a utility function consisting of the portfolio risk, return, transaction cost, and other optional terms, subject to a set of practical trading or investment constraints. Barra Optimizer is an integral part of most Barra products and services.

Analytical developers working on our optimization library should have the ability to write, analyze and optimize complex mathematically-oriented code which runs efficiently on distributed systems.

We are looking for individuals with strong mathematical and advanced C / C++ programming skills. Applicants should have advanced degree in math, physics or another relevant discipline, PhD is preferred. The knowledge of quantitative finance, an experience in solving complex optimization problems is a strong plus. We expect applicants to be good team players with strong communication skills, enjoy computer programming, and seek an environment where learning complex, new methodologies is a daily requirement.

RESPONSIBLITIES:

• Participate in optimization library development and its integration to MSCI products

• Be involved in the support of internal and external clients

• Work closely with other teams such as Research and Analytical QA to test and advance methodologies

DESIRED EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• MS or PhD level degree (followed by some directly relevant experience) in a quantitative field (e.g., mathematics, physics, engineering, finance)

• At least 3-5 years C,C++ development industry work experience in quantitative field

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

• Experience in implementing numerically intensive calculations

• Excellent analytic mindset and skills

• Prior experience working in a portfolio optimization capacity or SME will be a decisive asset

APPLICATION METHOD:

Apply online or Contact Cheryl Deng (cheryl.deng@msci.com) for a discussion.